irish or not, let's celebrate

I may be Italian by blood, but when March 17 rolls around, I'm Irish in spirit.  There is something I love about St. Patrick's day (aside from another excuse to enjoy a cold, refreshing pint or two on a week night).  I don't know if it's because I've been in Boston so long, or grew up with a best friend whose family's anniversary was on St. Patrick's day.  Either way I have to admit I'm looking forward to wearing green tomorrow.  I think my love for this holiday might have something to do with the end of winter.  We are at this point, less than a week away,  from the "official" first day of Spring.   I am so excited about the new time change, so when I leave work it's still sunny out and I'm not tempted to go home and hibernate, but rather, feel inspired to go for a run.  

St. Patrick's day for me is a festive time, filled with the bright fresh spring green we are soon (but not soon enough) about to encounter.  I happened to stumble upon some potted clovers, "shamrocks" if your Irish, at the grocery store this past weekend and just had to buy them, to get in the true spirit of the holiday and awaken my senses for the promise of Spring.  I've had them on my window sill in the bathroom, which gets the most direct sunlight and they seem to be quite happy there.  I couldn't help but capture and share their delicate beauty as they looked so alive and happy in the sun's golden rays.  

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

sometimes i feel like writing...sometimes i don't

I was going to start this post by apologizing for not contributing anything new in over a week and then I got to thinking...Why should I feel guilty for not writing, when the title of this blog clearly states "sometimes" I feel like writing?  When I decided to start this blog in the first place, it was on a whim.  I hadn't planned on writing a blog or pondered over a name and topics of what my "audience" would want to read.  No, the idea came to me amidst a serious case of winter blues when I found myself reviving my (on again, off again) creativity to rescue me from the cold, dark days of January.  I was looking back on an old blog I wrote while in college, working for Undergraduate Admissions at Suffolk University and writing  from an art student's perspective, when I realized that casually writing about my "art projects" would keep me doing them and also allow me to share my processes with family and friends.  So that was it, I thought about it for a few minutes, chose a name (I eventually wasn't too thrilled about, but am defending its origin now) and the rest is history.

Now that  I have established a (very small) audience base and some followers, I feel obligated to keep writing and keep crafting.  Lately I have been working on the brown and tan wrap bracelet I've mentioned a few times, but only in small doses here and there, in between doing my taxes and "training" for a 5K I'm running this Sunday.  Recently, as in the past 6 months or so, I have been struggling with trying to get back in shape.  I am by no means in poor physical health, but as an ex-runner I am determined to gain back my stride.  I have been sticking to it as of late and have, in part, this approaching 5K to thank as a goal to keep me heading to the gym.  Despite my busy schedule, I've been working away on the bracelet inch by inch so I might as well show you where it's at right now.

Vintage gold button for the clasp

I am using three different colors of Czech glass beads, faceted round beads, two colors are the same size and the third color is a bit larger, which I have incorporated into the center of the bracelet.  I don't have to much more to go at this point, so I hope to have a finish product to show any day now.  As for new projects on the horizon, I have been recently doing research on portfolio design as I need to create a professional portfolio.  The portfolio I am in possession of now is pretty pathetic, all student work and out of date, so it's time to put something together that will really highlight my strengths.